World in brief: Iran to amend nuclear fuel deal

Tehran, Iran – Iran will seek to amend a proposed deal it reached with the U.S. and other major powers to ship the bulk of its nuclear material overseas, state television reported Tuesday.

Iran will respond by Thursday to a proposal to transfer most of its nuclear stockpile to Russia and France to be turned into fuel for a Tehran medical reactor, but its counteroffer will include “important adjustments,” said Iran’s state-controlled Al Alam, citing unnamed sources.

The U.S., Russia, France and the International Atomic Energy Agency last week signed off on a plan to transport the bulk of Iran’s enriched uranium to Russia and France to be further refined and shaped into fuel plates for the medical reactor, which produces isotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Although the proposed deal would not fully allay international concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it would temporarily reduce the country’s stockpile.

Al-Qaida claims Baghdad bombs

Baghdad – Militants linked to al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility Tuesday for a pair of powerful truck bombs that killed 155 people and wounded 600 in the latest insurgent assault on the fragile Iraqi government.

The carnage Sunday was the second coordinated attack that al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed recently in an apparent campaign to bring down Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s administration ahead of January elections, which are in jeopardy of being postponed by political wrangling and security concerns.

The Islamic State of Iraq issued a statement Tuesday saying that its operatives “targeted the dens of infidelity,” referring to the Iraqi Justice Ministry and the Baghdad Provincial Council, where the two bombs exploded Sunday.

The statement, which was posted on Web sites and couldn’t be independently verified, taunted the Shiite Muslim-led Iraqi government and its ally, Iran.